Iris
by Starlight Nyx
Summary: Eren is an art student who has no idea whatsoever what he's doing with his life. Levi, on the other hand, is the owner of an office across the country. [Modern!AU, may include spoilers for the latest SnK chapters.]
1. Wiegenlied

"Mikasa, calm the fuck down! I'll be alright," the brunette practically shouted into the phone, clasping it with trembling, pale knuckles. "Yeah, I know you're just looking out for me. Stop treating me like a goddamn child, though." He sighed. "I'm 21, Mikasa. We've known each other for 11 years. You don't have to pull all that protective bullshit on me. I'm not your little brother - you're the one who's younger than me, I'm supposed to look out for you." His groan made his adoptive sister wince and utter a few more words into the phone. "I love you too. Bis später."

Eren hung up, dropping the phone into his pocket and rolling his eyes. His adopted sister seemed to think that just because they shared a close familial bond, it was alright for her to constantly nag at him, with her "mother hen" attitude. Couldn't she just let him live his own life for once? She wasn't his mother, nor his older sister. He was, in fact, a whole year older than she.

Absentmindedly, he hummed a lullaby his mother had taught to him when he was younger under his breath. It was in German - their family's mother tongue - and so he could understand it. It had an oddly calming effect on him - most likely because it had a gentle, sweet melody that built up slowly. The song was quiet, and could calm even Eren Jäger - one of the most excitable young men there were.

_Der innere Reichtum der Leute ist_  
_wie Licht bunt, durch Farbglas hereinzuscheinen_  
_Das angenehme tägliche Leben ist_  
_wie ein warmes Kerzenlicht_

The words spiraled around in his head and he resisted the urge to sing them aloud as he strode along the street, glancing around for the sign that would signify the entrance to his best friend's apartment building. Why did Armin have to be the only one with a car? He supposed he always could've asked Horseface to lend a hand - he worked in a car dealership, after all - but decided against it, as then he would have to admit he needed the help of that asshole. Eren couldn't bring himself to do that, much to the irritation of Mikasa and Armin alike.

He couldn't blame them, to be honest.

* * *

"Hey, Arm -"

A blushing, shirtless couple broke apart, looking up at the wide-eyed brunette, who sighed.

"You didn't tell me you got a new boyfriend, Armin." He looked at the young man hovering over his best friend. "Or that you would be having sex on the kitchen table when I was coming over."

"U - um," the blonde stammered awkwardly, biting his lip. "Sorry, Eren. This is Meino. We got tired of waiting for you."

"Hi," Meino replied gruffly, pulling his shirt on and striding over to the teal-eyed man. "You're Eren, then?" When he received a sharp nod in return, the redhead smirked. "He's scrawnier than I thought he'd be, 'min. Do you really have an eight-pack, Jäger?"

"W - what?"

"... don't even ask." Armin snorted, tugging his own shirt over his head. "So, you still need to borrow my car? I can't believe you even want to go to that art showcase. I mean, there will be tons of people there and we have to go along to make sure you don't wreck my shiny new car."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," the brunette shot back, rolling his eyes. "I want some inspiration. You know I've dreamed of being an artist since I was a kid." Eren groaned and dodged as the blonde swatted at him. "I don't make fun of you for wanting to be a librarian ... or an anime artist, for that matter." He snickered, rushing over to the car and hopping in the driver's seat before Armin could hit him. "Or for the fact you're still convinced you're not gay, even though you've never had a girlfriend and you were just going to have sex with your boyfriend in the kitchen."

The smaller man's face flushed with embarrassment as he slipped in the passenger side and squeaked out a small noise of protest, with Meino smirking and hopping in the back. Then he cleared his throat, slapping Eren on the shoulder and shooting him a dark, dangerous look that hardly ever crossed the petite blonde's face. His boyfriend bit back a full-out laugh and his best friend didn't even bother holding it back.

"Shut up, both of you. Shut the fuck up right now."

* * *

_"There's a place downtown, where the freaks all come around!~"_

"Eren, I swear to god if you don't shut up this second -"

_"It's a hole in the wall, it's a dirty free-for-all!"_

_"Everybody take it off!~"_

"Shut the fuck up, Meino."

The redhead stuck his tongue out at his boyfriend and grinned at Eren, who smirked in response, spinning the wheel and pulling into the parking lot outside the exhibition hall where the showcase would be held.

"Come on, Armin ..." Eren teased, snickering to himself. "At least it isn't Miley Cyrus. Or Nikki Minaj. Or -"

"Stop it, Jaeger Bombastic."

The brunette groaned. "Do you really have to bring that up? That was my nickname in middle school. I was a complete dumbass then, alright?" He pulled the parking lever back and climbed out, but not without tossing a dark, dark glare in his best friend's cackling boyfriend's direction.

That only made him laugh harder.

"Armin, we're going to make you listen to Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, Miley Cyrus -"

"- Demi Lovato, Beyonce, Rihanna, Ke$ha, Britney Spears -"

"- and Nikki Minaj on the way back," Eren finished, glad that Meino was willing to play along with him. "So you'd better prepare, and prepare your ass for your boyfriend as well." He threw his head back and let out a loud chortle, watching the other two men hop out and look at him with two very different expressions.

Meino grinned. "Then we're going to watch The Pirate Fairy and all the other Tinkerbell movies at your house! I picked them up the other day," he sang, twirling his ponytail around his finger. "I hear they're fucking amazing, babe."

"I can't decide which of you I want to kill more now. I'm walking home - and not even to my home, I'll go whoring for money if it gets me out of watching Tinkerbell."

* * *

"Shit, Jaeger Bombastic, it's completely crowded in here."

That snide comment was shot at the teal-eyed man by the redhead, who had been snorting to himself the whole time. Armin just sighed and leaned against a wall, blue eyes narrowing.

"Shut the fuck up."

* * *

13 hours and countless avoided fights later, the trio sat in Armin's car, outside a Wendy's eating cheeseburgers and chicken nuggets. None of them were really sure why they were there, but what the hell. No one wanted to bring up the fact that they were outside a fast food joint at 1 AM.

They rode back to Armin's apartment in silence, dropping off Meino there. Then the blonde brought Eren back to his current "home" - in the guest bedroom atop the cafe that Mikasa and Annie owned. The brunette thanked his friend before heading inside, fiddling with the lock for a few seconds. He slipped inside, tiptoeing up the stairs and spotting his sister's blonde girlfriend sitting in the study. The teal-eyed man popped his head in there and quickly stated, "I'm back", receiving a curt nod in return. He headed back to his bedroom, flicking on the light and kicking off his shoes, tumbling onto the warm, comfortable bed.

Before long, sleep closed over his mind and eyes as he grasped the sheets with steady hands, head resting on the cotton pillow propped up against the headboard.

* * *

"Get up, you lazy asshole."

That was definitely Annie. She always had to wake him up in the mornings - Mikasa was already making breakfast.

"Ugh," he protested, rolling over and groping for his phone. "What time is it?" he asked groggily, blinking and glancing at the screen, groaning when it flashed 12:41 at his face. "It's already almost 1?"

"Yeah, you almost slept for 12 hours straight. I wish I could've let you," the blonde deadpanned sarcastically, rolling her eyes and flicking a lock of hair back. "but unfortunately, you have to work today. Be glad that it isn't a school day." She threw a bucket of cold water at him, the handle smacking him on the nose as water sprayed all over his face. "You have approximately 20 minutes - actually, more like 18 - to get ready and get your shitty ass downstairs."

"What the fuck, Annie?" he yelled after her, blinking. "Did you really have to throw a bucket of water at me? Fuck, this is freezing."

Needless to say, he did get ready in the exact time stated. You don't want to piss off Annie.

He headed downstairs, rolling his eyes as he slipped behind the counter and leaned on the wall, watching Mikasa open up the cafe and a few of their other workers slide inside quickly - from how fast they entered, it seemed they'd been waiting outside.

"Hey, Jaeger," Reiner shot at Eren, winking and crossing his arms. "I saw you at that art showcase. I didn't know you were interested in any of that."

"You didn't know I'm going to an art college?" the brunette questioned, arching an eyebrow. When the tall blonde shook his head incredulously, his eyes widened. "I'm surprised Annie didn't tell you that."

"Get to work, dumbasses," said blonde yelled at them. "There are customers coming in, it isn't 'chat with your buddies' time."

Both men laughed at that, doing as she requested.

* * *

**About _100 Days of YumiKuri_: **I have decided to quit writing it for the time being. It will remain up in case I decide to add to it at any given time.

** "Jaeger Bombastic" was a reference to AoT Abridged, for those of you who noticed it. And there will definitely be more references hidden in this fic. Lots of them. EVERYWHERE. Gwahahahahaha ... okay, I'll stop now.

Translations can be found here - translations

If you don't want to review here, feel free to send me an ask on Tumblr (my url is jelly-bae) with your thoughts!

Songs included are "Vogel Im Kafig" from the official OST and "Take It Off" by Ke$ha. **


	2. Rêve

"Levi!"

The black-haired man's head shot up as Petra Ral, one of his co-workers, darted into the room, pupils blown wide and knuckles white as snow around the stack of papers clutched in between her small hands. She bit her lip, passing the papers over his desk and clasping a hand to her paling face. Levi's eyes widened as he read through the paperwork, already pale skin practically glowing with how white it was.

"_Merde!_" he cursed, lip curling back into a snarl as he pushed his chair back and stood, sweeping on a coat and calling out to the strawberry blonde as he left. "Tell the others I'm in a meeting and I won't be until Monday, if they ask. I have to go take care of this."

"Yes, sir!" The younger flushed and scurried off to her own cubicle.

* * *

"Marlowe Freudenberg, Hitch Dreyse," the short man greeted stiffly, papers stuffed into the briefcase hanging loosely at his side. "What is the meaning of this?"

"Sorry, sir," the woman, Hitch Dreyse, squeaked mockingly. "All Nile said was that he'd like to meet with you about - ahem - the issue he mentioned. I wonder why he didn't send for Erwin? Or Hanji? Hmm. Oh well, he's in there. You know Dok doesn't tolerate late meetings." Her voice had lowered to a whisper, and Marlowe glanced over at her, eyes narrowing.

"Hush, Hitch," he chided, slapping her on the shoulder. The ash-haired woman snickered, but covered her mouth with her curled fingers when the black-haired man shot her another glower. "Mr. Dok is inside, Mr. Ackerman. He, well, has someone you may know in there ..." He glanced at a piece of paper Levi hadn't noticed before. "Kenny Ackerman? You share a surname, so I just suspected -"

Levi's eyes widened and his nails dug into his palm. He couldn't do it. No matter how important this meeting was, he couldn't handle seeing that bastard again.

"F - fuck," he hissed. "Fuck it, I can't do this. Tell him I couldn't come."

The black-haired man brushed his fingers up under his undercut as he raced down the hall, gasping for breath. He hurried outside, fishing his phone out of the bag, limp at his side, and pressing it to his ear with trembling fingers. He crossed his fingers subconsciously.

Please let her be there and not out with Farlan. Please let her be there.

A long, drawn-out ring. Then a click.

_"Hello? Levi?"_

"Isabel," he hissed, breath leveled. He dropped his briefcase and ran his extra hand through his hair, struggling to catch his breath and make it seem as if he were not hyperventilating at the moment. But Isabel usually ended up seeing right through him anyways. "I can't believe I'm asking this. Can you come pick me up?"

_"Where are you? And why don't you have your car with you?"_

He let out a sharp growl. "I took the bus, smartass. Shitty four-eyes has my car." Levi paused, kneeling to pick up the bag, which had fallen on its side. "And I'm outside the Military Police's office building. I've got to get the fuck out of here before Dok gets his ass out here and finds out I'm skipping the meeting and could've made it -"

_"I'm at that new fancy restaurant down a few blocks from the building. Mitras, I think? Farlan's friend suggested it and so we're out here right now."_

"Whatever. Just get your ass over here and take me home, oh my fucking god. Leave Farlan at the restaurant, I don't think I can handle seeing his dumbass face."

The redhead giggled. "_See you in a few minutes, Big Bro."_

* * *

"So, why didn't you join the meeting again?"

The black-haired man groaned and leaned back on the couch, shooting a glare at his adoptive brunette brother. In his left hand was a mug of coffee - that probably had some beer or whiskey mixed in, knowing Isabel and Farlan, because it tasted shitty as hell - and in his right was the TV remote. For whatever reason, they were watching White Chicks. An hour ago, it had been Mean Girls. And the other man's hand was gravitating towards Back to the Future and Pacific Rim.

"Fucking hell, do I have to tell you a million times?" he snapped, eyes meeting the grinning hazel ones of his "friend". "That asshole of a - a ... a sperm donor works at the Military Police. Kenny the Ripper. Kenny Ackerman. Whatever name he pleases at the time, depending on whether he's a normal ex-cop walking around town or a serial killer cutting out tongues and stabbing throats." Yeah, there was definitely some alcohol sprinkled in his coffee. "And wait, Isabel, why the fuck are you putting Cruel Intentions in?"

"Because it's a wonderful movie," she breathed mockingly, propping her chin up on her slender fingers. "Isn't it, Farlan?"

"No."

"Aw, c'mon!" the redhead protested, looking at him with a slight pout. "You could've at least tried to play along with me!"

"Are you seriously pouting because I didn't agree with your face proclamation that Cruel Intentions is a wonderful movie? I'd rather watch Mean Girls than this shit." Isabel glared at him, sticking her tongue out at the man as she popped out the movie and slipped another one in, quick as lightning. "Did you just put what I think you put in there."

"Yes."

"Oh my god, Isabel. I thought we agreed not to watch Twilight. Ever. Again."

* * *

Needless to say, the promise that they had made once upon a time to never watch Twilight again was broken that night, much to the dismay of both men and the giggle fits of the woman. Levi was probably drunk out of his mind by the end of the first movie - he had a sneaking suspicion that when he called for Farlan to fill up his mug with tea (he didn't specify black tea, which he most likely should have) that the brunette had filled it with Scotch instead.

Why were they obsessed with getting him drunk? Maybe he was more talkative or something. No, fuck that, he was always talkative, he just didn't want to talk to random shitheads.

_"Levi!"_

Aw, fuck. He'd hit the "answer call" button on his phone without even realizing someone was calling. And it was on speaker.

"Why the fuck do I hear your annoying shitty voice at" - he glanced up at his clock, eyes narrowing - "four in the morning? Are you outside with my car?"

_"No. But, Levi, we just found a new perfect job for you! Moblit told me you were talking about looking for some artwork to display at a showcase. We found an art college student in California. His art is amazing, Levi!"_

He sighed. "What's his name?"

_"Eren,"_ the brunette answered. _"Eren Jaeger."_

* * *

** Levi is the best character to write. And you can't convince me otherwise. You absolutely cannot. **


End file.
